The Space Race was the pinnacle of Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union . Each side vied for technical superiority in rocketry and spaceflight, but America fell behind at the start. The contest changed in 1961, however, with President Kennedy's challenge to land a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.

Learning to Fly

Beginning with Project Mercury, American scientists incrementally developed procedures and technology to discover how man could survive outside our atmosphere. Known as The Mercury 7, America 's first astronauts and Space Age heroes - Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Carpenter, Schirra, Cooper, and Slayton - flew solo flights from 1961 to 1963 in tiny cramped capsules. The ten two-manned Project Gemini spaceflights from 1965 to 1966 went beyond mere flight as astronauts learned how to rendezvous, dock, and live in space. Each mission offered crucial lessons in preparation for the Apollo Program and the Moon.